Kerry says no FBI contact over Clinton email probe

TIPPERARY, IRELAND: US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that neither he or his department had been contacted by the FBI over its renewed investigation into his predecessor Hillary Clinton’s emails.

“No, I haven’t been notified of anything, no, I haven’t been requested of anything, no, I’m not aware of the department being requested,” he said during a visit to Tipperary in southern Ireland.

Kerry said it would be up to the US Department of Justice and the FBI to respond to further questions about the probe, which has rocked the race for the White House in its final stretch.

“By the way, obviously as an American citizen — not to mention as a former nominee of the party — there’s a lot I’d love to say about what has been going on. But I can’t and I’m just going to remain out of this,” he said.

Throughout her campaign, Clinton has been battling allegations she put US secrets at risk by using a private server based in her home for all email correspondence while she was secretary of state.

It was thought that an FBI enquiry was ended in July but director James Comey announced on Friday, less than a fortnight before polling day on November 8, that his agents were investigating a newly discovered trove of emails.

Kerry was in Ireland to accept the Tipperary International Peace Award for his efforts to end conflicts around the world, and met with Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan.

At a joint press conference, he said was engaged “on a daily basis” with trying to end the humanitarian “disaster” in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.

Kerry also expressed his commitment to negotiations over the ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal between the United States and the EU.

“We are still in negotiations on this and depending on who is elected president of the United States, I don’t see those negotiations ending,” Kerry said.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has condemned the deal as a job-killer and Clinton has said she would not pursue it if it was found to undermine the jobs of American workers.

Kerry is due in London on Monday to collect two other awards, including the Chatham House diplomatic prize jointly awarded with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for their part in the Iranian nuclear deal.